This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving ...
More

This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving and The Entertainer collectively and include them in broader debates about class, gender and ideology, it presents a new look at this famous cycle of British films. Refuting the long-standing view that films such as Billy Liar and Look Back in Anger are flawed and therefore indicative of an under-achieving national cinema, the book also challenges the widely held belief in the continued importance of the relationship between the British New Wave and questions of realism. Drawing upon existing sources and returning to unchallenged assumptions about British cinema, this book allows the reader to return to the films and consider them anew. In order to achieve this, the book also offers a practical demonstration of the activity of film interpretation. This is essential, because the usual tendency is to consider such a process unnecessary when it comes to writing about British films. The book demonstrates that close readings of films need not be reserved for films from other cinemas.Less

The British New Wave : A Certain Tendency?

B. F. Taylor

Published in print: 2006-07-30

This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving and The Entertainer collectively and include them in broader debates about class, gender and ideology, it presents a new look at this famous cycle of British films. Refuting the long-standing view that films such as Billy Liar and Look Back in Anger are flawed and therefore indicative of an under-achieving national cinema, the book also challenges the widely held belief in the continued importance of the relationship between the British New Wave and questions of realism. Drawing upon existing sources and returning to unchallenged assumptions about British cinema, this book allows the reader to return to the films and consider them anew. In order to achieve this, the book also offers a practical demonstration of the activity of film interpretation. This is essential, because the usual tendency is to consider such a process unnecessary when it comes to writing about British films. The book demonstrates that close readings of films need not be reserved for films from other cinemas.

This chapter provides an account of the films of Anthony Asquith, and draws attention to the varied body of work with which he is associated. His works have been positioned in relation to the various ...
More

This chapter provides an account of the films of Anthony Asquith, and draws attention to the varied body of work with which he is associated. His works have been positioned in relation to the various directions taken by the British film during the period of his career, and he is regarded as one of the most underrated film directors in British film history. Although not ignored by scholars and critics, Asquith's work has certainly not had anything like the attention enjoyed by his most distinguished contemporary, Alfred Hitchcock, and neither has it had the consideration devoted to figures such as Michael Powell and David Lean. The selection represents a diverse career in which art cinema, middlebrow culture, and popular art are reflected, although the films chosen are not intended to indicate any particular ranking in Asquith's career as a whole.Less

Introduction

Tom Ryall

Published in print: 2011-04-01

This chapter provides an account of the films of Anthony Asquith, and draws attention to the varied body of work with which he is associated. His works have been positioned in relation to the various directions taken by the British film during the period of his career, and he is regarded as one of the most underrated film directors in British film history. Although not ignored by scholars and critics, Asquith's work has certainly not had anything like the attention enjoyed by his most distinguished contemporary, Alfred Hitchcock, and neither has it had the consideration devoted to figures such as Michael Powell and David Lean. The selection represents a diverse career in which art cinema, middlebrow culture, and popular art are reflected, although the films chosen are not intended to indicate any particular ranking in Asquith's career as a whole.

This chapter charts the topography of the British film industry in the 1920s, when Anthony Asquith began his film career. Asquith entered the film industry in the mid-1920s, towards the end of the ...
More

This chapter charts the topography of the British film industry in the 1920s, when Anthony Asquith began his film career. Asquith entered the film industry in the mid-1920s, towards the end of the troubled silent period when the production industry in Britain was in decline in the face of competition from the American film. The industry struggled to find a position in the market and seemed to many on the brink of extinction. The 1928 Cinematograph Films Act effectively laid the foundations for a British production industry by, among other provisions, requiring exhibitors to screen a number of British films as part of their annual schedules. It was also a period marked by ‘a lively engagement with issues of film criticism and aesthetics’, which was stimulated in part by the new adventurous films from Germany, France, the Scandinavian countries, and the Soviet Union. Tell England (1931), the much-delayed project about the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War, was to be Asquith's first sound film proper, though, as with Shooting Stars, he was to work in collaboration with another experienced figure. British Instructional had proved to be a congenial context for the start of a career in film making; the next phase of Asquith's career was to prove somewhat more problematic.Less

The formative years

Tom Ryall

Published in print: 2011-04-01

This chapter charts the topography of the British film industry in the 1920s, when Anthony Asquith began his film career. Asquith entered the film industry in the mid-1920s, towards the end of the troubled silent period when the production industry in Britain was in decline in the face of competition from the American film. The industry struggled to find a position in the market and seemed to many on the brink of extinction. The 1928 Cinematograph Films Act effectively laid the foundations for a British production industry by, among other provisions, requiring exhibitors to screen a number of British films as part of their annual schedules. It was also a period marked by ‘a lively engagement with issues of film criticism and aesthetics’, which was stimulated in part by the new adventurous films from Germany, France, the Scandinavian countries, and the Soviet Union. Tell England (1931), the much-delayed project about the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War, was to be Asquith's first sound film proper, though, as with Shooting Stars, he was to work in collaboration with another experienced figure. British Instructional had proved to be a congenial context for the start of a career in film making; the next phase of Asquith's career was to prove somewhat more problematic.

This chapter sheds light on the post-war British film industry and the turn Asquith's career took during these times. He was well established as one of the British cinema's leading directors on the ...
More

This chapter sheds light on the post-war British film industry and the turn Asquith's career took during these times. He was well established as one of the British cinema's leading directors on the basis of a diverse output: the middlebrow drama adaptations of Shaw and Rattigan, lowbrow genre films including a comedy thriller and a costume melodrama, patriotic war pictures and documentary dramas. Asquith resumed his directing career with While the Sun Shines (1947), and his next film, The Winslow Boy (1948), was a Rattigan adaptation in which he corraborated with Korda's revived London Films and British Lion. The Importance of Being Earnest, a version of Oscar Wilde's famous play from the 1890s, was his first film in colour. Asquith's genre exercises from the early 1950s, though containing much of interest – innovatory narrative structures, imaginative mise-enscène, lyricism, and poetry, the radical ideological questioning of war – remain little-known films on the periphery of the mainstream British cinema of the time.Less

Post-war films 1 – genre and British cinema

Tom Ryall

Published in print: 2011-04-01

This chapter sheds light on the post-war British film industry and the turn Asquith's career took during these times. He was well established as one of the British cinema's leading directors on the basis of a diverse output: the middlebrow drama adaptations of Shaw and Rattigan, lowbrow genre films including a comedy thriller and a costume melodrama, patriotic war pictures and documentary dramas. Asquith resumed his directing career with While the Sun Shines (1947), and his next film, The Winslow Boy (1948), was a Rattigan adaptation in which he corraborated with Korda's revived London Films and British Lion. The Importance of Being Earnest, a version of Oscar Wilde's famous play from the 1890s, was his first film in colour. Asquith's genre exercises from the early 1950s, though containing much of interest – innovatory narrative structures, imaginative mise-enscène, lyricism, and poetry, the radical ideological questioning of war – remain little-known films on the periphery of the mainstream British cinema of the time.

One of the key and consistent themes in the post-war films of Dearden and Relph concerned men forced to confront new circumstances and changed expectations. This chapter surveys eleven of their films ...
More

One of the key and consistent themes in the post-war films of Dearden and Relph concerned men forced to confront new circumstances and changed expectations. This chapter surveys eleven of their films (1948 – 1970) that work in a diversity of genres settings and scenarios but that are distinguished by tragic, male narratives. These films result either in the death of the male protagonist or in his otherwise seriously compromised ending. These are not ‘social problem’ films as such, but they do address from multiple viewpoints, the contradictions and anxieties of men, dealing with and trying to face up to, the forces of personal, social and historical change.Less

Dramas of Masculine Adjustment I: Tragic Melodramas

Alan BurtonTim O'sullivan

Published in print: 2009-12-14

One of the key and consistent themes in the post-war films of Dearden and Relph concerned men forced to confront new circumstances and changed expectations. This chapter surveys eleven of their films (1948 – 1970) that work in a diversity of genres settings and scenarios but that are distinguished by tragic, male narratives. These films result either in the death of the male protagonist or in his otherwise seriously compromised ending. These are not ‘social problem’ films as such, but they do address from multiple viewpoints, the contradictions and anxieties of men, dealing with and trying to face up to, the forces of personal, social and historical change.

Chapter 2 contemplates why British horror was revived at the dawning of the new millennium, and also considers some of the reasons why British horror films produced in the 2000s and 2010s can be ...
More

Chapter 2 contemplates why British horror was revived at the dawning of the new millennium, and also considers some of the reasons why British horror films produced in the 2000s and 2010s can be viewed as constituting a distinctive aspect of contemporary British cinema. I discuss the establishment of the UK Film Council (UKFC) in 2000 and contextualise the contemporary British horror film in the international film marketplace, drawing parallels between British horror and British film production more broadly, British horror and international horror production, and the audience demographics targeted by distributers and film production companies. This involves examining British horror’s shift from a theatrical genre to one associated primarily with the home video and online market.Less

British film production and the horror genre

Johnny Walker

Published in print: 2015-12-01

Chapter 2 contemplates why British horror was revived at the dawning of the new millennium, and also considers some of the reasons why British horror films produced in the 2000s and 2010s can be viewed as constituting a distinctive aspect of contemporary British cinema. I discuss the establishment of the UK Film Council (UKFC) in 2000 and contextualise the contemporary British horror film in the international film marketplace, drawing parallels between British horror and British film production more broadly, British horror and international horror production, and the audience demographics targeted by distributers and film production companies. This involves examining British horror’s shift from a theatrical genre to one associated primarily with the home video and online market.

This chapter reconsiders the style and meaning of British New Wave cinema. The examination of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey or Billy Liar, is based upon the pressing desire to ...
More

This chapter reconsiders the style and meaning of British New Wave cinema. The examination of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey or Billy Liar, is based upon the pressing desire to re-evaluate the mise-en-scène of these films. This has been achieved by applying the kind of British critical methodology, which first suggested that such an approach was unnecessary. The kind of style-based film criticism originally advocated by Movie is a useful tool for reconsidering the nature and the status of the series of films. Reconsidering the nature of each of these films is made possible by concentrating upon the details of each one and allowing a discussion of these details to develop a deeper understanding of each individual film. The implications of this are twofold. Firstly, it enables a clear demonstration that it is not the methodology that is at fault; it is just the way in which the methodology has (not) been applied. The strand of British film criticism which has developed is an impressive tool by which discussions of the British New Wave can be moved forward. The impressive nature of the methodology is further enhanced by the implications that such an approach has for other aspects of British cinema. Secondly, it is important to understand that examining the style and meaning of any individual film allows that film to have a position within any kind of broader framework.Less

Single vessels and twisting ropes

B. F. Taylor

Published in print: 2006-07-30

This chapter reconsiders the style and meaning of British New Wave cinema. The examination of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey or Billy Liar, is based upon the pressing desire to re-evaluate the mise-en-scène of these films. This has been achieved by applying the kind of British critical methodology, which first suggested that such an approach was unnecessary. The kind of style-based film criticism originally advocated by Movie is a useful tool for reconsidering the nature and the status of the series of films. Reconsidering the nature of each of these films is made possible by concentrating upon the details of each one and allowing a discussion of these details to develop a deeper understanding of each individual film. The implications of this are twofold. Firstly, it enables a clear demonstration that it is not the methodology that is at fault; it is just the way in which the methodology has (not) been applied. The strand of British film criticism which has developed is an impressive tool by which discussions of the British New Wave can be moved forward. The impressive nature of the methodology is further enhanced by the implications that such an approach has for other aspects of British cinema. Secondly, it is important to understand that examining the style and meaning of any individual film allows that film to have a position within any kind of broader framework.

This chapter presents a sample comparative study of youth cultures. It compares and contrasts the British angry-young-man films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the Chinese young-rebel films of ...
More

This chapter presents a sample comparative study of youth cultures. It compares and contrasts the British angry-young-man films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the Chinese young-rebel films of the 1980s. The British films include Room at the Top (1959), Look Back in Anger (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), A Taste of Honey (1961), A Kind of Loving (1962), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and This Sporting Life (Romulus, 1963). Drawing on the Western literature on youth rebellion, it compares the social history of the two countries in terms of structural similarities, and presents some general conclusions about the nature of youth rebellion and how it should best be understood within its particular national and historical contexts.Less

A British Comparison

Zhou Xuelin

Published in print: 2007-09-01

This chapter presents a sample comparative study of youth cultures. It compares and contrasts the British angry-young-man films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the Chinese young-rebel films of the 1980s. The British films include Room at the Top (1959), Look Back in Anger (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), A Taste of Honey (1961), A Kind of Loving (1962), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and This Sporting Life (Romulus, 1963). Drawing on the Western literature on youth rebellion, it compares the social history of the two countries in terms of structural similarities, and presents some general conclusions about the nature of youth rebellion and how it should best be understood within its particular national and historical contexts.

In 1953 Ealing Studios made Meet Mr Lucifer; produced by Michael Balcon, directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Stanley Holloway, the latter of whom appeared as Hollingsworth, an actor who is ...
More

In 1953 Ealing Studios made Meet Mr Lucifer; produced by Michael Balcon, directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Stanley Holloway, the latter of whom appeared as Hollingsworth, an actor who is playing Lucifer in a repertory theatre pantomime. Meet Mr Lucifer's combination of contempt and fear is illustrative of the British film industry's attitude to television – a reaction notably different to that seen in post-war USA, where ‘the industry monitored developments closely and manoeuvred to get in on the ground floor of the new medium’. The big difference between the US and UK film industry responses to TV is that it took many years for the British film companies to catch on to the opportunities it presented, by which time the terms of trade could be set by the TV companies.Less

BRITAIN: Meet Mr Lucifer: British Cinema Under the Spell of Tv

Graham RobertsHeather Wallis

Published in print: 2007-02-01

In 1953 Ealing Studios made Meet Mr Lucifer; produced by Michael Balcon, directed by Anthony Pelissier and starring Stanley Holloway, the latter of whom appeared as Hollingsworth, an actor who is playing Lucifer in a repertory theatre pantomime. Meet Mr Lucifer's combination of contempt and fear is illustrative of the British film industry's attitude to television – a reaction notably different to that seen in post-war USA, where ‘the industry monitored developments closely and manoeuvred to get in on the ground floor of the new medium’. The big difference between the US and UK film industry responses to TV is that it took many years for the British film companies to catch on to the opportunities it presented, by which time the terms of trade could be set by the TV companies.